


Oft she visits this lone mountain

by krityan



Category: Fairy Tales and Related Fandoms, His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-20
Updated: 2012-12-20
Packaged: 2017-11-21 17:02:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/600080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/krityan/pseuds/krityan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Little Red Riding Hood, retold in the His Dark Materials universe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Oft she visits this lone mountain

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HopefulNebula](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HopefulNebula/gifts).



> It was a tiny fragment of your request to have a retold fairy tale, but I couldn't resist putting this together as a treat for you! Happy Yuletide, enjoy.

The forest had always been a deep and scary place, and Red Riding Hood had always been taught to stay well away from the dark line of trees when alone. She lived with her mother in a modest home well-nestled in the stone-lined streets of the village, and the two of them would often travel through the woods to visit Red's grandmother-- the old woman was stubborn and occupied the same house she'd been born in, a cabin deep within the forest. Her grandmother was often ill, and Red's mother could not resist pampering her often with baskets of freshly baked bread, baskets of wine and other miscellany from her kitchen and garden.

The day seemed to fall into the status quo, Mother scurrying about the kitchen with her dæmon fluttering overhead, tightly packing jars of marmalade and bundles of vegetables into her worn little basket. It had been almost a week since they had last journeyed to Grandmother's house, and she had finally become too nervous to let another day pass without checking on her. Red Riding Hood sat at the table watching the commotion. Her dæmon skittered about the table, a small brown dormouse for the moment, snatching up little crumbs and idly chatting with Red while they waited to set out for the day.

Initially, it practically passed notice when Mother commented she was a bit dizzy. She was worried, and hadn't slept well. Had she eaten today? Oh, who could remember? They laughed off the wobbling step and long lean on the counter, then shared a cookie and a long drink of water before continuing their preparations. It wasn't too long afterwards, though, that Mother suddenly collapsed.

Mother's dæmon had shouted, loudly, at the crash, but now the usually active raven was a quiet lump of black hovering in the corner. The only sound in the kitchen now was the occasional shifting of feathers as it puffed itself up, withdrawing into its own mass. Red Riding Hood jumped down from her chair and crouched at her Mother's side. With a groan the woman rolled herself into sitting upright.

"Oh, darling, I think I've hurt myself." Her voice shook a bit, as she gladly accepting Red's offered help in standing. Immediately she sunk back to the ground and wrapped her hand around her ankle. Red pulled the chair a bit closer, and helped Mother edge into it instead of standing. "I'm sorry, but we won't be going anywhere today."

"But, grandmother!" All the worst scenarios that Mother had ever worried over aloud rolled about in Red Riding Hood's head, "We have to check on her!"

Mother frowned, and shook her head. "I'm worried too, but I can't." She paused for a long moment, closing her eyes and letting out a strained breath. "And it's too dangerous for you."

"I'll be with her!" Red Riding Hood's dæmon interrupted, now a small dog with raised hackles and bared teeth, "We'll be safe!"

Mother frowned, staring briefly at the little dæmon, before glancing back at the basket. She sighed, weighing her worries against each other in her mind.

"Alright." Mother slowly released the breath she'd been holding, "I'll let you go alone." She interrupted Red Riding Hood's excited gasp, "But! Promise me you'll take the roads we always follow, and won't stray. You will go directly to your Grandmother's house, and immediately return." She shook her finger a bit too empathetically and nearly pitched forward. "Do you promise me?"

Red nodded, the enthusiasm carrying her body with it into little excited hops. "Oh, Mama! Yes!" Her response degraded into fragments of statements punctuated by indistinct sounds.

"Now hurry and put your cloak on. I want you out of that forest by nightfall, so you'd best be on your way." Mother sighed, watching her daughter dash out the room, chattering back and forth with her dæmon. She reassured herself again as they left cottage door and dashed down the street. "Be careful!" she shouted after them, "There's dangerous things in those woods!"

\--

Red laughed as she skipped to the edge of the woods. She never understood what her mother was so worried about. Grandmother would never let anything happen to Red. The woman's dæmon, Cyril, was a large grey wolf, a sulking animal with keen senses that was always quick to determine any danger that lurked nearby, and just as quick to take action against it. Red's Grandmother was an equally fierce woman, and it was impossible to worry about danger knowing that she was around. Red ducked into the thick tree cover, excited to finally have a chance to explore on her own. Her dæmon pranced along, a pretty little fawn now, and they laughed together.

It didn't take long for her to become distracted by the antics of butterflies and the sensory overload of new sights, and wander much further from the usual road then she'd ever been before. It was exciting at first, but Red began giving into the growing anxiety in the back of her mind, and slowly became afraid. It was getting dark quickly, and she wasn't sure if she was going in the right direction for Grandmother's at all. She dreaded returning home to mother, basket will in hand after this much time, as much as she dreaded being in the unfamiliar woods after nightfall. Her dæmon shared her stress, shrinking again into its dormouse shape and hiding inside the basket, shivering. Red pulled her cloak closer around her shoulders and pushed forward, determined to find her way to the path again.

Fear rendered Red's senses more sensitive then usual, and the forest offered plenty of creaks and cracks to match the flitting shadows all around. She had just recovered from the brief paralysis of an owl suddenly landing and dropping a rain of twigs upon her head, and now she stood stopped dead by a rustling bush in front of her. Her heart sank as a large animal pushed its head through the branches with a low growl. As it stepped closer fell backwards with a gasp, fully prepared to hide within the thorny brush behind her until her fear turned immediately into relief.

"Oh, Cyril! It's you, I'm so glad, it's just you." Red dove forward, wrapping her arms around the wolf's neck and burying her face in the coarse fur as she cried.

"I've been so lost, it's been just awful! How did you and grandmother know?"

With a grunt, the wolf pulled away from her grip and shook its head before trotting back into the darkness. Red scrambled to her feet to follow, feeling a hot flush form in her ears. Grandmother must be furious to have sent Cyril out to find Red. Mother must have become worried and made the trip despite her foot, and now Red was going to be scolded all the way home. She trudged behind in silence, straining to see the path between the trees. She whispered to her dæmon, coaxing him out as much as attempting to comfort her own nerves. Tucking a hand into the basket, she brushed over his fur with her chilled fingers. Carefully, she cupped her hand beneath the small dæmon, and pulled him out into the open.

"Come on, we'll be there soon. It's fine now," she paused to frown, honestly still feeling quite lost, "We're gonna be in trouble, though."

She felt a tremor in her hand, distinctly a restrained giggle this time. The dormouse slid out of her hand, shifting oddly and was suddenly the fawn again, prancing a circle around her with a cheerful little laugh. Suddenly, he swung his head around and froze. It took a moment to register, and Red stopped with him, turning back, confused.

 

"Hm? What's wrong?" She'd rarely seen her dæmon act so seriously, and was unsure how to react to the emotions she could feel from him now. They were cold, cold feelings, but centered around a burning core of alarm she couldn't conceive of unlocking into action.

Red followed his gaze, turning slowly. The wolf that had been their guide had stopped as well, and was crouched now with bared teeth and a pointed menace in its eyes. Red clasped her hand over her mouth, chocking as she tried to scream and gasp in one moment. She didn't have time to try to pull in another breath before she was knocked flat by the wolf's dive forward. Her dæmon bolted, a flash of hooves in her peripheral vision. There was nausea, she didn't understand the spinning trees or the sudden bright lights that faded away so completely. Mother was going to be so worried.


End file.
